Палермотанский ботанический сад: история и современность

The Orto Botanico di Palermo (Palermo Botanical Garden) is both a botanical garden and a research and educational institution of the Department of Botany of the University of Palermo. The garden lies within the city of Palermo, Italy at above sea level. It covers about on top of red soil that has evolved on a limestone tuff substratum.

The central neo classical building, known as the Gymnasium, is located near the main entrance gate. Originally it was the main office of the Schola Regia Botanice (school of botany), the Herbarium, the library and the director's office. Two smaller buildings are located either side of the Gymnasium in perfect symmetry. To this day they are called the Calidarium and the Tepidarium because originally they housed plants from warm and temperate zones respectively (caldo meaning "hot" in Italian).

This is the oldest section of the gardens, laid out in a rectangular shape and divided into four quadrangles, the "quatrains" (or quartini). Each quatrain is further divided into flowerbeds, within which the plants were originally organised along the lines of the Linneian system of classification. The design of this section has gradually changed over time to display certain specimens at the expense of others that are now gone. At the centre of this section, is the particularly evocative “cross”, the small plaza that results from the intersection of the central axis (the Viale centrale) with the tree lined avenue of palms (the Viale delle palme).

The Aquarium, a large round pool divided into 24 sections, is located at the end of the central avenue. The design consists of three concentric rings which are divided into 8 wedges, each being a home to a variety of acqautic flora. The "lagoon" is located a few metres further down from the Acquariam and is another ample water feature in which the plants are arranged informally. Other smaller ponds are located in the quatrains of the Linneian section.

In this section plants are arranged according to bioecological and geographic criteria. Here one finds the Giardino a succulente ("Garden of succulents"), consisting of an assortment of plants from the arid zones of Africa; the Palmetum; the Cycadetum; e la collinetta mediterranea (mediterranean hillside) which includes various significant species endemic to the Mediterranean, including some specimens which represent rare and endangered species.

In the experimental zone, situated to the side of the Winter Garden, tropical and subtropical plants are cultivated for the purposes of research. Studies currently in train or recently undertaken include those on cotton, vegetables, sugar cane and sorghum. The zone dedicated to plants of a practical application, which extends over the south west part of the gardens, consists of terrain set apart for plants yielding a variety of oils, resins and fibres.

Also known as the nuovo settore (the new zone), it comprises the southern section of the gardens within which the plants are arranged in accordance with the classification system of Engler. The species are partitioned into three sections, each dedicated in turn to the gymnosperms, the angiosperms, the dicotyledons and the liliopsida.

The modern Herbarium mediterraneum, accommodated within a few buildings adjacent to the gardens, covers a surface area of some 6,000 m2. The main part of the collection comprises the Erbario Siculo and the Erbario Generale of the Department of Botany, estimated to be around 50,000 and 200,000 specimens respectively. Of the latter group, around a quarter represent plants native to the mediterranean. The non Sicilian specimens are mainly from Portugal, Spain, France, Corsica, Sardinia, Greece, Crete, Cyprus, Algeria and Egypt. It also includes around 2,000 specimens of algae, 1,600 of lichen, 4,700 of bryophyte and a thousand odd of fungus.

The gene bank, having been started in 1993, is part of a broader project to protect the genetic material of the region's flora. The main objective of the bank is the conservation ex situ, both short and long term, of all seeds endemic to the region, rare or endangered. Once they have been collected, the seeds are immediately treated and conserved in ampoules, all managed by the institution and available for exchange with others. The seeds are periodically tested for their propensity to germinate. The bank forms part of the RIBES network (Rete Italiana delle Banche per la conservazione Ex Situ del germoplasma).

For a few years now the gardens have been home to a colony of parrots of the species Psittacula krameri, having escaped from the aviaries of the nearby Villa Giulia and are perfectly at home in the subtropical habitat of the gardens.

The gardens are open to visitors during the working week from 9.00am to 5.00pm (from April to October to 6.00pm). Weekend hours are from 8.30am to 1.30pm. E mail: info@ortobotanico. palermo. it